Mixtures of plant disease suppressive bacteria enhance biological control of multiple tomato pathogens

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) strains CHA0 (Pseudomonas fluorescens), IE-6 S⁺ (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and 569Sm^r (Bradyrhizobium japonicum) were tested singly and in combinations for biological control against multiple tomato pathogens (root-infecting fungi and root-knot nematodes). Strains CHA0 and IE-6S⁺ inhibited in vitro growth of 569Sm^r while IE-6S⁺ suppressed CHA0. The bacterial species not only inhibited the radial growth of three root-infecting fungi, Macrophomina phaseolina, Fusarium solani and Rhizoctonia solani (AG 8), but also caused substantial mortality of Meloidogyne javanica juveniles. Used as a soil drench the three bacteria not only suppressed root-infecting fungi and root-knot nematodes but also enhanced growth of tomato plants both under glasshouse and field conditions. The suppressive effect was generally more pronounced when the bacteria were employed together. Strain IE-6S⁺ exhibited better rhizosphere colonization than CHA0 and 569Sm^r. Populations of CHA0 in the rhizosphere declined when the bacterium was used with either IE-6S⁺ and/or 569Sm^r, while populations of IE-6S⁺ in the rhizosphere were enhanced when used in combination with CHA0 and/or 569Sm^r. IE-6S⁺ was the only bacterium that colonized inner root tissues of tomato plants. When using an iron chelator to create iron deficiency in the soil, the biocontrol efficacy of the bacteria against F. solani and R. solani was enhanced while against M. phaseolina and M. javanica this activity remained unchanged. Only strain 569Sm^r gave significant suppression of M. phaseolina in both iron-deficient and iron-sufficient soils.     

Flow measurements with portable cut-throat flume and broad crested weir in flat gradient channels

A study was conducted to evaluate the reliability of flow measurements with portable cut-throat flumes and broad-crested weirs during 1988–89 at the field hydraulic laboratory of the National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad. Data of flow measurements were recorded under free and submerged flow conditions with a cut-throat flume and a broad-crested weir as compared to a standard V notch. The results indicated that for free flow conditions cut-throat flumes can be used with –2.2 to 8.6% error. However, the use of cut-throat flumes under flat gradient channels may cause problem of over-topping at the upstream end. Under submerged flow conditions, the percent error in the flow measurements of –3.2 to 14.6% was observed. Therefore, cut-throat flumes cannot provide reasonable flow measurements under submerged flow conditions. For accurate flow measurements broad-crested weirs should be used with percent error of –1.5 to 5.8. Such flumes can be easily manufactured in Pakistan to suit different flow regimes and flat gradient channels.     

Studies on substituted aryloxyalkanols as potential fungicides

2-(4-Fluorophenoxy)ethanol and 2-(4-chloro-m-tolyloxy)ethanol, prepared by the reduction of appropriate esters with aluminium lithium hydride, have been found to be remarkably active against Aspergillus flavus, Helminthosporium oryzae, and four species of aquatic fungi that are responsible for fish mycoses. These chemicals were not lethal to fish even at the highest concentration used for fungicidal screening.     

Improving the Performance of Wheat by Seed Priming Under Saline Conditions

Salinity is one of a major threat in harvesting good wheat stand on sustained basis. In this study, potential of seed priming techniques to improve the performance of wheat varieties (SARC‐1 and MH‐97) in a saline field was tested. For priming, wheat seeds were soaked in aerated solution of ascorbate (50 mg l^?1; ascorbate priming), salicylic acid (50 mg l^?1; salicylicate priming), kinetin (50 mg l^?1; kinetin priming) and CaCl₂ (50 mg l^?1; osmopriming) for 12 h. For comparison, seeds were also soaked in simple water (hydropriming); in addition, untreated seeds were also taken as control. Seed priming treatments substantially improved the stand establishment; osmopriming (with CaCl₂) was at the top however. Likewise maximum fertile tillers, grains per spike, 1000‐grain weight, grain yield and harvest index were observed in plants raised from seeds osmoprimed (with CaCl₂) followed by ascorbate priming in both the varieties tested. As an index of salinity tolerance, seed priming treatments also improved the leaf K⁺ contents with simultaneous decrease in Na⁺ concentration, osmopriming being the best treatment. Similarly, maximum total phenolic contents, total soluble proteins (TSP), α‐amylase and protease activities were observed in osmoprimed (with CaCl₂) seeds followed by ascorbate priming. Economic analysis also indicated that osmopriming is more viable with maximum net return and benefit‐to‐cost ratio. In conclusion, different seed priming treatments in wheat seeds improved the salinity tolerance nonetheless osmopriming (with CaCl₂) was the most effective treatments to get higher grain yield and net return in both wheat varieties whereas kinetin was the least effective.     

Organic Nitrogen Source Addition for Improving the Physicochemical Properties of Sandy Loam Soil and Maize Performance

Poor quality of sandy loam soils ?is the main reason for low crop yield. Improvement of physicochemical properties of these soils is very challenging. Addition of organic sources may improve the soil properties. Therefore, this study investigated the adequacy of poultry-manure-compost (PMC) and pressmud-compost (PrMC) at 0 (control), 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 t ha^?1 for improving the physicochemical properties of sandy loam soil and maize performance. An increasing trend in most soil and crop traits was seen with increasing compost levels. For 10 t PMC ha^?1, soil inorganic-N (512%), organic-carbon (78%), and water-holding capacity (65.36%) improved maximum. This resulted in the maximum mean crop growth rate (43.85%), stover yield (94%), grain protein (21%), and nitrogen use efficiency (30.6 kg kg^?1). Contrarily, grain oil (?7%) was lowest at 10 t PMC ha^?1. Consequently, 10 t PMC ha^?1 could be much effective to improve the physicochemical properties of sandy loam soils and maize performance.     

Glyphosate hormesis in broad-leaved weeds: a challenge for weed management

Little is known of glyphosate-induced hormesis in weeds and how this might influence weed management. To test the hormetic effect of low doses of glyphosate on broad-leaved weeds, two experiments were conducted, in the laboratory and the screenhouse. The hormetic effects of glyphosate solution in growth media (0, 65, 130, 250, and 500 g acid equivalent (a.e) ha^?1) and foliar spray (0, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64 g a.e. ha^?1) were tested on four broad-leaved weeds (Coronopus didymus, Chenopodium album, Rumex dentatus, and Lathyrus aphaca). Glyphosate solution in the range 65–250 g a.e. ha^?1 stimulated the germination and seedling growth of all tested weeds. However, at 500 g a.e. ha^?1 inhibition of germination and growth was observed. Foliarly applied glyphosate in the range 4–32 g a.e. ha^?1 increased root and shoot length, dry biomass, and seed production ability of all four weeds species; however, the stimulatory response was species dependent. These results indicate that glyphosate hormesis could play a significant role in altering crop/weed competition and might influence weed management.     

Toxicity of butene-fipronil,in comparison with seven other insecticides,in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Leptinotarsa decemlineata</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila melanogaster</Emphasis>

The speed of toxic action of an insecticide is an indicator for control efficacy and has considerable practical importance. For agricultural pest control, fast-acting is an important feature for an insecticide to consistently reduce the amount of feeding damage. Butene-fipronil is a novel compound obtained via the structural modification of fipronil. However, information about the toxicity and speed of toxic action is still limited. In the present paper, we compared the toxic feature of butene-fipronil with seven other insecticides, of which imidacloprid and abamectin are slow-acting insecticides, and acephate, endosulfan, methomyl, α-cypermethrin and spinosad are fast-acting insecticides. We found that the contact and stomach toxicities of butene-fipronil were among the highest ever estimated to Leptinotarsa decemlineata and Drosophila melanogaster. The speed of toxic action of butene-fipronil was determined using median lethal time (LT₅₀) at a dose (concentration) equivalent to LD₈₀ values. For L. decemlineata, the values for butene-fipronil, imidacloprid, abamectin, acephate, endosulfan, methomyl, cypermethrin and spinosad were calculated to be 39.9, 36.5, 37.5, 20.2, 22.4, 23.8, 16.4 and 23.1 h, respectively. Those for D. melanogaster were 29.8, 31.5, 29.4, 14.0, 20.3, 18.1, 13.5, and 20.1 h, respectively. ANOVA analysis showed that butene-fipronil, imidacloprid, abamectin had similar LT₅₀ values, whereas acephate, endosulfan, methomyl, spinosad and cypermethrin had comparable LT₅₀ values. Thus, butene-fipronil belongs to slow-acting insecticides. Our results provide more empirical information for butene-fipronil potential application.     

基于优化SIFT算法的无人机遥感作物影像拼接

针对作物遥感影像因对比度低所导致的使用尺度不变特征变换算法(scale-invariant feature transform,SIFT)提取特征点数目少,拼接效果不理想的情况,提出了一种基于图像锐化的自适应修改采样步长的非极小值抑制拼接算法,该算法在图像预处理中引入锐化滤波器对平滑后的图像进行卷积,增强图像细节,增加特征点提取数目,同时通过基于尺度的自适应修改采样步长,使图像特征点分布更加均匀,根据低对比度作物遥感影像的成像特性,采用非极小值抑制,提高图像匹配效率。在查找匹配点的过程中,引入最优节点优先算法(best-bin-first,BBF)查找最近邻与次近邻,采用随机抽样一致算法(random sample consensus,RANSAC)优选特征点。通过试验验证,该文改进后的算法相比于标准SIFT算法,在处理低空作物遥感影像时,特征点提取数目平均增加77.5%,特征点匹配对数平均增加15对,对于标准SIFT算法无法匹配的低对比度作物遥感影像,提取到了8对以上的匹配点对,满足了拼接条件。该改进算法相对于标准SIFT算法更适于低对比度遥感影像的拼接。